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Series for business customers · 2015–2018
Expert panel webinar production — three cameras and a conversation, not a lecture
A webinar series for mBank’s business customers. Not one presenter but two or three experts at the same table, talking to each other and answering questions — in the studio, on a green screen, or at the client’s own office.
The challenge
An expert talking at a camera is not yet a webinar
A webinar for a bank’s business customers deals with things that have to be explained — changes in regulations, accounting, obligations towards the tax office. One speaker with a slide deck turns that into a lecture people stop watching after fifteen minutes.
So we built the format around a conversation. A product specialist from the bank sits at one table with an accountant or an adviser, one asks and the other answers, and the viewer hears the subject from two sides. That form needs a different production, though: you have to be able to follow each person separately and hold the shared shot as well.
How we did it
Three cameras, one gallery and a format you can repeat
A panel only looks simple when the production is built for it from the start. The cameras, the sound and the crew’s comms are all set up for a conversation whose course nobody knows in advance.
A camera for each speaker
Three Sony XDCAMs: a wide of the table and two portraits. The director cuts to whoever starts speaking, the moment they speak — without that, a panel falls apart into talking heads.
Three different sets
Within one series we shot on a green screen, against a black backdrop and at the client’s office with a panorama of Warsaw. Different lighting and different graphics each time — the same format.
Sound built for several microphones
A panel means several sound sources at once and the risk of people talking over each other. That calls for full audio production on a separate mixer, not a microphone on the camera.
Comms across the whole crew
Altair Audio wireless intercoms plus Motorola CP040 radios — camera operators, the gallery and the floor manager hear each other without stepping into frame.
Equipment
What we brought to the series
3× Sony XDCAM + flypack
Three cameras and a mobile gallery with the capability of an OB van, packed down to fit an office interior. The same kit is available through our streaming equipment rental.
Caspar CG + keying
Graphics in the bank’s identity: opening slides, expert lower thirds, the presentation in a window. On the green screen set, real-time background replacement as well.
Teradek Slice + Bond
An encoder and a bonded-modem backup link — essential when you broadcast from a client’s office. The signal went out through our own streaming server.
Full recording
A whole episode — „Changes for entrepreneurs from 1 January 2018”
Half an hour of an mBank product specialist in conversation with an accountant (in Polish). It shows exactly what is described above: cuts between whoever is speaking, expert lower thirds and the presentation coming into the picture without interrupting the conversation.
On location
The studio moved up to an office floor
Part of the series was produced not in a studio but at the client’s office — by the windows, with a panorama of Warsaw behind the table. A great backdrop, and a harder set: daylight shifts during the recording and the glass reflects the lights.
The answer is always the same: our own lighting set strong enough to dominate the daylight, cameras angled to kill the reflections, and a backup link, because a corporate network is rarely prepared for a live broadcast.
The result
When two people sit at the table, the viewer is not watching a presentation — they are listening in on a conversation.
That is the key difference between a panel and a classic webinar. An expert being questioned by another person speaks in plainer language, because they are answering a human being rather than a lens. On a subject like regulatory change, that decides whether the viewer stays to the end.
The second effect is repeatability. A series running from 2015 to 2018 means every following episode started from a finished technical script: positions, lighting, graphics and running order were already documented, so the crew and the experts could concentrate on the content.
The same pattern carries over to other formats: partner training, recurring sessions with an expert, internal company communication. Anywhere a conversation works better than a single lecture.
FAQ
Expert panel webinar production — common questions
How many cameras does a webinar with two or three people need?
Three is the sensible minimum: a wide of the table and one portrait per speaker. With two cameras the director always has somebody uncovered, and the cuts start lagging behind the conversation.
How is a panel different from a webinar with slides?
In format and in how it lands. One speaker reads the deck; two people hold a conversation — questions are asked on air and the answers come out simpler. Technically a panel needs more cameras, more microphones and a director cutting live.
Can you come to our office?
Yes — part of this series was produced at the client’s premises. We need a room with enough height, space for lighting and permission to bring the kit in. We bring our own connectivity, because an office network is rarely ready for a live broadcast.
Green screen or a plain backdrop for a panel?
It depends on whether the set needs to change. A green screen lets you build the interior in graphics and repeat it in every episode — more on that in our green screen webinar series for ING. A black backdrop is faster to rig and looks good with several people at a table.
How long should this kind of webinar be?
Episodes in this series ran between 30 and 60 minutes. With a panel, the longer form is safer than with a single speaker, because the change of voices holds attention by itself — but it is still worth planning a block of audience questions at the end.
Do you handle whole series rather than single sessions?
Yes, and that is where this format gives the most. For mBank we worked on successive episodes between 2015 and 2018. Every following session starts from a finished technical script, so the preparation is shorter.
What does producing a webinar series cost?
It depends on the number of cameras, the graphics package, the location and the number of episodes. A three-camera panel at the client’s office is a different budget from a single session in a studio. Tell us how many episodes you are planning — a series is priced differently.
Planning a webinar built as a conversation?
We will set up for an expert panel — cameras, sound, graphics in your brand identity and a director cutting live. In our studio or at your office.